The Letter
A Back To The Future Story
By Flaming Trails
Disclaimer: I don't own BTTF. If I did. . . . Great. I can't think of anything.
Prologue
This is a two-part story detailing how Doc ended up reading that famous letter. The first part is what happened in all my BTTF universes ("World of Darkness, Normal Doc, etc.). The second part is an addendum to "Fight the Future", and tells what happened after Mystie hypnotized Doc'55.
Part 1
Tuesday, November 15th, 1955
Hill Valley
4: 03 P. M.
Doc Brown entered Lou's Cafe, shivering. "Great Scott, it's cold! And the precipitation doesn't help any." He looked at Lou, who was grumbling about one of the customers. "May I have a cup of coffee?"
"Sure. Cream and 2 sugars, right?"
"Precisely." Doc dug around in his pocket for a nickel while Lou prepared the requested drink. Suddenly, he frowned and extracted his hand. Caught in his fingers were several pieces of paper. Now that's odd, Doc thought, examining them. Why would I put paper in one of my coat pockets?
Lou returned with the cup of coffee. "That'll be five cents, Brown. What's with the paper?"
"Damned if I know." Doc retrieved a nickel and handed it to Lou, then continued studying the papers. One of them had the address of the cafe on it. Another contained the year "1985". Marty's letter! Doc realized with a jolt, flashing back to that fateful night three days ago. I thought I had scattered this to the four winds. I must have accidentally shoved them in my pocket when that branch fell on the cable. He shook his head with a frown. No man should know too much about his own destiny. I've learned far too much about the future already. I should just throw these away and forget about them.
He stuck the pieces back into his pocket and began sipping his coffee. The letter's sudden reappearance had reminded him of how strange his life had been the last week. He had only just finished cleaning up all the things that could possibly jeopardize the space-time continuum. The diagram of the Town Square had been destroyed, and the toy car thrown out. He had disabled the cable hook-up that had allowed the 1985 camcorder to play on his 1955 TV. The fried cables and pole were in the garbage too, useless after having 1.21 gigawatts of electricity shot through them. Even Marty's 1955 clothes had been donated to Goodwill.
Marty. The name still made him smile. It had been nice, having another human presence around the mansion. It had made the place seem smaller and less lonely. The kid had certainly made a huge difference in his life. Just think. Now I know I'm going to invent a time machine -- an invention that actually works, no less. I'll live to see 1985, and I'll get the change to explore the ages. I wonder if I'm married in the future? I know I do get a best friend. Great Scott, a best friend. I wonder if Marty knows how much that means to me? How much he means to me already? Doc chuckled. I know him for a week and won't meet him for many years, and yet I still have such warm feelings toward him. He frowned down at his pocket. So why did he feel the need to mess with the future, after all my warnings? He should know that the only good future is the unknown one.
He finished off his coffee, thanked Lou, and left the cafe, noting with a smile that George and Lorraine had come in while he had been thinking. They were looking at each other with total adoration, happily eating some soup. Ah, young love. Maybe one day I'll be blessed with such--
"Hey, move it, butt-head!"
Doc turned to see Biff scowling at him. He moved out of the doorway and let the teen and his gang through. Each made it a point to give him a dirty look as they walked in. Biff remained outside for a moment. "Don't let me catch you in here again," he snapped. "People like you don't belong with people like us." Then he walked in and slammed the door.
Doc glared at him through the door a moment, then headed for his car. He was so glad George had decked that bully. It was about time that someone had gotten the better of him. Another thing I can thank Marty for, he thought, getting behind the wheel and driving off.
As he drove, he found himself wondering about the contents of the letter. Why would Marty go to so much trouble to tell him about the future? Come to think of it, he had acted a little strangely during most of the week, starting on Tuesday when he had caught him watching that tape. In fact, whenever they watched it together, Marty had become oddly affected by it, to the point he would politely excuse himself whenever it was on. What a strange reaction to a tape he said that he himself had filmed. It was only a science experiment, after all.
Or was it?
Doc frowned as he took a corner. The first time he had watched the ending of that film, he had gotten disturbed. His older self had seemed very scared right before the tape ended. His voice and eyes had given it all away. But what had scared him so? Marty had known, but he had had the sense to keep his mouth shut. Did the letter have something to do with that? Had something happened to his older self, something that Marty thought he could prevent in the past?
Doc's frown grew deeper as he recalled the rest of the teen's abnormal behavior patterns. He had said something very cryptic before his second attempt at telling him the future, "And I'm really going to miss you." Doc had never understood that comment, as Marty would be seeing him very shortly back in his own time. And then, after he had tried to yell the information to him during the cable crisis, it had seemed, just for a moment, that he hadn't wanted to leave. After all that fuss he had made about finally getting back to 1985, he had hesitated, actually said, "No, Doc!", at the crucial moment.
But the kicker was that hug Marty had given him once Doc had explained everything. Although Marty had shown himself amendable to hugs, this one had felt -- different. Sad. Like this was the last time he'd ever get to see his best friend. Doc had chalked it up at the time to the fear of getting killed in the experiment, but now he wasn't so sure. Is it possible that I had died in the future and Marty wanted to see me alive?
He pulled up to his garage, turned off the engine, and sat there for a moment. All those actions were starting to nag at him, and he felt the letter would help explain them. Plus, it was his one link to Marty not already destroyed. He really missed the kid, even after such a short period of time. But no man should know too much about his own future, he told himself sternly as he headed up to the house. I can't read it for the sake of the space-time continuum. If I keep it and--
Wait a moment. That's an idea. I could read it, but then destroy it. Burning it over a Bunsen Burner would be good. There's no way I'll be able to remember the exact contents in 30 years. He chuckled as he opened the door. Emmett, you really are a genius.
Copernicus welcomed him home with a set of happy barks. "Hello, Copernicus," he said, kneeling down and ruffling the puppy's fur. "Do you want to go for a walk?" Copernicus barked and jumped up and down. "Just a moment, then. I have to piece together this letter first. Go get your leash."
The dog ran off, having been trained to locate the item with scent. Doc smiled after him, then grabbed some scotch tape and a burner. He cleared off his workspace and set to work piecing the letter together. It was slow, tedious work, and twice Doc was tempted to quit and throw the pieces in the trash can. But the notion that Marty wouldn't have done all this if it weren't very important made him complete it. Sighing, he leaned back and read the words.
Dear Dr. Brown,
On the night I go back in time, you will be shot by terrorists at 1: 30 A. M. Please take whatever precautions are necessary to prevent this terrible disaster.
Your friend,
Marty
Doc stared at the letter. Shot? By terrorists? Why? And for what? Did it have to do with the time machine?
Slowly, with shaking hands, he picked up the letter. And to think he had been determined to destroy it! Not now. He would keep that letter to 1985, and probably beyond, as a reminder of the friend who had risked the future for his life. As for the questions, those would be answered in due time. All he needed to do was make sure he was ready for the terrorists, and everything would stay on track. Maybe they made bullet-proof clothing in the future.
Reverently, he folded the letter and put it in his pocket. A final question occurred to him. How did his future self explain his reversal to Marty? The teen knew him as a stickler to that doctrine.
He smiled. "Well, maybe I'll just tell him I thought, 'What the hell.' Worth a shot, he knows I'm human." He looked at his dog, who had located his leash. "Come on, Copernicus. Let's take that walk. I need a break from all this time travel business." He got up -- then made another decision. He went upstairs and found the box with Marty's clothes in it. Just for memory's sake, he removed one of the outfits and put it back in his closet. Then he returned to Copernicus, thinking, I've got 30 years to wait to catch up to Marty. Might as well make the most of them.
